Christmas weeks - STL week 3 and 4 Ames

Dec 29, 2014

Christmas Jammies

STLs

Our presents are "under the tree"

we tried to have a "trash bag" like dad always does.....but we got so many presents that it couldn't all fit!!!!! #tooblessedtobestressed

ok that's about it for pictures! On the missionary email, it won't let you send more than two (sometimes only one) at a time so sorry that took like 10 emails.....and all my time!!!!! I am out of time now, but I love you a lot. I am happy and it was so good to see your faces. I have really missed them! 

Dec 22, 2014

THIS WAS PROBABLY THE FUNNEST WEEK IN MY MISSION. We traveled to Des Moines Monday to stay the night with the STL's there (Matley & Whipple: know both of them well so it was a fun sleepover). tuesday drove to Iowa City for MLC: amazing leadership meeting and Sister Sumsion's mind was blown with how awesome the mission is. Thursday Friday and Saturday we traveled to 3 different Zone Training Meetings (because we are over all three in the Ames Stake). Sister Barney thinks so much like me, so training was SSSOOOOOO fun. Learned more about leadership and love and being led by the Spirit than I ever expected I would. Felt a cool connection to Bennet way across the country: half expected to see him at MLC.

All the rest of our time we had in our area (which was, like, 3 minutes) was spent caroling and handing out He Is The Gift cards. Met a man from Iraq: one of my life-long dreams. He is a Christian and said we could come teach him. PUMPED!!!!!!!! I love this work more than anything.

Taught only, like, one lesson and it was with a sweet ISU student who knows it's true and is thinking of gettign baptized but has to find a way to tell her family. SUCH A SWEET GIRL!

And last but NOT least: J--- WAS BAPTIZED!!!!!! Sister Barney and I were GIDDY all day. J---, this buff/tatooed/thug of a kid started tearing up after his confirmation. It was SO AWESOME. He really "gets" what it means to give your heart to the Lord. These past two weeks have been a highlight of my mission. I was panicking that something would go wrong but everything was going right and then we started the meeting and headed into the font and it had been locked in the 5 minutes we had left the room for the opening of the meeting. I turned to J--- and teased: "J---: you did this, didn't you!" And he laughed so hard and was like "THIS IS THE WORK OF SATAN!" Barney and I were dying laughing. And then one elder that was there randomly had a key. SO COOL!

I am so happy to be here. I can't wait to talk to the 5 of you on Christmas. HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD ONE!!!!!! Now that Jordan's baptism is over, we officially started to pray for snow so we can have a WHITE chirstmas: but it's SO WARM!!!!! hahaha I will be reminding myself of this when it's -20 in February....haha.....

LOVE YOU

 -Sister Sumsion

Almost Christmas

December 15, 2014

Oh my word, yesterday was 60 degrees here!!!!!!!!!!!!! If it weren't for #HEistheGift, it wouldn't feel like Christmas at all around here!

But fortunately we had Christmas Zone Conference this week and they gave us pass along cards for HeIsTheGift: 10 to pass out a day!!!!!!! It is really huge in our mission and we are pushin' it to spread the good news!!! It was a good party: we did some skits and got some spiritual stuff too.....but I forgot my camera today! sorry! 

Sister Barney is ADORABLE! We talk about EVERYTHING and she approaches the work the same way I do so we work really well together. We are having a lot of fun so far.

Went on my first exchange: I don't know if there has even been a more spiritual day in my whole mission.

We taught J--- the remaining lessons to prep him for baptism this week. He got excited to pay tithing and he asked if he could see us more frequently because "learning about the Gospel is a stress reliever".....because it's FINALS week this week for him. He is SSSOOOO incredible. We keep RACKING our brains because of how sincere he is. It's crazy. I feel like I've been waiting for this my whole life. Please pray for him.  It hasn't snowed in a month and we keep saying that we can pray for snow starting on the 21 so not even weather can hold it back from happening!!! We are so excited.

Merry Christmas! Can't wait to see you!!!

-Sister Sumsion-

STL - new area, comp, responsibilities

This is Sister Training Leader Sumsion here: live from the my new area with Sister Barney. 

SO. FREAKING. HAPPY.

Sister Barney is adorable. I feel like we are already really close. She and I are very alike in the way we like things done and get things done, so I am excited for this time ahead of me.

So I don't know if you know a whole lot about STL...and I think they are different in each mission.....so here's how it works in the IDMM:

So there are 14 zones in this mission, based on # of missionaries. But there are 6 stakes in this mission, with a STL companionship over each stake of sisters. So my area is an "STL area" which means only STL serve here beacause it's a good "base" location for us to travel to all the companionships we are over. We are over 5! Which is pretty cool: some STLs are only over 2. So bascially we have an exchange every week this transfer, which is excited. And then we have a monthly "Mission Leadership Counsel" which is the first week of every month, usually. This transfer we only have one: on the 16th because we have a Christmas Zone Conference on the 10th. So basically we will be out of our area one or two times every week. SO FUN! Yeah for new responsibilities!

The mission has changed a lot since when I first came out. The "wave" is going come in the next 3 transfers so it will probably change a TON when I leave. For example: when Sister Lloyd was here, she trained 5 times and was an STL at, like, 6 months out because they had such a shortage of experienced missionaries. (which is ok, because Lloyd was like the best missionary ever and was over like 10 companionships of sisters.) But now that the mission is shrinking, thanks are changing a lot and only calling sisters near the end of their missions. So I replaced Rogers here who just went home. And Barney goes home in 2 transfers and I go home the following one!!!!! SOOOOOOO weird to think that I only have 3 transfers left and I will probably be here until I do so. AAAHHHH!!!!!!! crazy!!!!!!!!!! (just kidding: I'm never going home: I love my mission too much.)...

 ...

Solidified by me coming here and meeting Jo--- my first night. He is the nephew of a member in Des Moines who have been teaching him for awhile. He decided he was ready, contacted the missionies who taught him 2 lessons in one week while he was at their house there over Thanksgiving, and then gave him to us. My first night here was his first lesson. We have talked to him every day since and he's getting baptized in two weeks. I can't believe how amazing he is. He really really understands how amazing this message is. He is 25, a stud, and a genius. WE ARE SO HAPPY FOR HIM. It's so cool to think that the Lord really has this big plan for us we can't even see. Jordan will be my 3rd baptism on my mission and I know the Lord has been preparing both of us to meet each other. Sister Barney and I say everyday "It's just so cool that the Lord let US be the ones to teach him." He's a rock star. So excited. If you'd like to pray for him, do Because he totally is ready.

Also: at the ward Christmas party, I sat next to a man named A--------. He told me he recognized me and my name. And then he spent like 20 minutes telling me about how much you had helped him as bishop in Park City, dad. He was so touched that he got up and bore his testimony yesterday about it. It was this HUGE tender mercy of the Lord showing me how much good can come from one man's actions.......and that that man was my FATHER!!!!!!! I felt so cool to be a part of this big circle, now serving in HIS ward and I was just so touched that the Lord intertwined our paths again and how amazing my Earthly Father was for HIS service to the Lord. Dad, I love you so much. You really changed my life by being who you are. And you made a HUGE impact on his. He married a girl from Provo and they have two kids. INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!

Happy Christmas! I love you 7. More than I can ever tell you.

-Sister Chloe Sumsion-